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AFFINITY DIAGRAM Basic Tools for Process Improvement
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
1
Module 4
AFFINITY DIAGRAM Basic Tools for Process Improvement
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AFFINITY DIAGRAM
What is an Affinity Diagram?
An Affinity Diagram is a tool that gathers large amounts of language data (ideas,
opinions, issues) and organizes them into groupings based on their natural
relationships (Viewgraph 1). The Affinity process is often used to group ideas
generated by Brainstorming.
Why should teams use the Affinity process?
The Affinity process is a good way to get people to work on a creative level to address
difficult issues. It may be used in situations that are unknown or unexplored by a
team, or in circumstances that seem confusing or disorganized, such as when people
with diverse experiences form a new team, or when members have
incomplete
knowledge of the area of analysis.
When should we use the Affinity process?

The Affinity process is formalized in an Affinity Diagram and is useful when you want
to (Viewgraph 2)

Sift through large volumes of data. For example, a process owner who is
identifying customers and their needs might compile a very large list of
unsorted data. In such a case, creating an Affinity Diagram might be helpful
for organizing the data into groups.

Encourage new patterns of thinking. An Affinity exercise is an excellent way
to get a group of people to react on a "gut level" rather than mulling things
over intellectually. Since Brainstorming is the first step in making an Affinity
Diagram, the team considers all ideas from all members
without criticism. This
stimulus is often enough to break through traditional or entrenched thinking,
enabling the team to develop a creative list of ideas.
When shouldn't we use the Affinity process?
As a rule of thumb, if less than 15 items of information have been identified, you can
skip the Affinity process. Instead, you can clarify and combine the ideas and then
use one of the Decision-Making Tools to identify the highest priority items. AFFINITY DIAGRAM
VIEWGRAPH 1
What Is an Affinity Diagram?
A tool that gathers large amounts of
language data (ideas, opinions,
issues) and organizes them into
groupings based on their natural
relationships.
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
VIEWGRAPH 2
When to Use the Affinity Process
Sift through large volumes of
data
Encourage new patterns of
thinking
Basic Tools for Process Improvement
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
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AFFINITY DIAGRAM
How is an Affinity Diagram created?
Affinitizing is a process performed by a group or team. The idea is to meld the
perspectives, opinions, and insights of a group of people who are knowledgeable
about the issues. The process of developing an Affinity Diagram seems to work best
when there are no more than five or six participants.
Before we go over the steps used to create an Affinity Diagram, we need to look at
some unique features of the Affinity process that are important to its success:
Affinitize silently. The most effective way to work is to have everyone move
the displayed ideas at will,
without talking. This is a new experience for
many people. It has two positive results: It encourages unconventional
thinking (which is good), while it discourages semantic battles (which are bad).
It also helps prevent one person from steering the Affinity.
Go for gut reactions. Encourage team members not to agonize over sorting
but to react quickly to what they see. Speed rather than deliberation is the
order of the day, so keep the process moving.
Handle disagreements simply. The process provides a simple way to
handle disagreements over the placement of ideas: If a team member doesnt
like where an idea is grouped, he or she moves it. This creates an
environment in which it is okay to disagree with people having a different
viewpoint. If consensus cannot be reached, make a duplicate of the idea and
place one copy in each group.
Now lets walk through the step-by-step process of creating an Affinity Diagram
(Viewgraph 3). This sequence has been adapted from the
The Memory Jogger
Plus+ [Ref. 1].
Step 1 - Generate ideas. Use the Brainstorming tool to generate a list of ideas.
The rest of the steps in the Affinity process will be easier if these ideas are written
on post-its .
TM
Step 2 - Display the ideas. Post the ideas on a chartpack, a wall, or a table in a
random manner. AFFINITY DIA GRAM
VIEWGRA PH 3
Creating an Affinity Diagram
Step 1 - Generate ideas
Step 2 - Display ideas
Step 3 - Sort ideas into groups
Step 4 - Create header cards
Step 5 - Draw finished diagram
Basic Tools for Process Improvement
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
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AFFINITY DIAGRAM
Step 3 - Sort the ideas into related groups. The team members physically sort the
cards into groupings, without talking, using the following process:

Start by looking for two ideas that seem related in some way. Place them
together in a column off to one side.

Look for ideas that are related to those you've already set aside and add them
to that group.

Look for other ideas that are related to each other and establish new groups.
This process is repeated until the team has placed all of the ideas in groups.
NOTE: Ideally, all of the ideas can be sorted into related groups. If there are
some "loners" that dont fit any of the groups, dont force them into groupings
where they dont really belong. Let them stand alone under their own headers.
Step 4 - Create header cards for the groups. A header is an idea that captures the
essential link among the ideas contained in a group of cards (Viewgraph 4).
This idea is written on a single card or post-it and must consist of a phrase or
TM
sentence that clearly conveys the meaning, even to people who are not on the
team. The team develops headers for the groups by

Finding already existing cards within the groups that will serve well as headers
and placing them at the top of the group of related cards.

Alternatively, discussing and agreeing on the wording of cards created
specifically to be headers.

Discovering a relationship among two or more groups and arranging them in
columns under a superheader. The same rules apply for superheaders as for
regular header cards.
Step 5 - Draw the finished Affinity Diagram.

Write a problem statement at the top of the diagram.

Place header and superheader cards above the groups of ideas.

Review and clarify the ideas and groupings.

Document the finished Affinity Diagram (Viewgraph 5). AFFINITY DIAGRAM
VIEWGRAPH 4
What Is a Header?
An idea that captures the essential
link among the ideas contained in
a group of cards.
Single card or post-it
TM
Phrase or sentence
Clear meaning
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
VIEWGRAPH 5
Drawing the Finished Affinity
HEADER
SUPERHEADER
IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
HEADER
IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
HEADER
IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
Basic Tools for Process Improvement
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
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AFFINITY DIAGRAM
How can we practice what weve learned?
Some practical exercises will enable you to apply the skills you've just learned.
These exercises are intended to be done by a team with the assistance of a facilitator
or instructor. Everyone on the team should take an active part.
The first exercise takes you through the Affinity process in detail, using viewgraphs to
illustrate how the random spread of cards might be grouped to arrive at a finished
diagram. The diagram provided is only an example. It is different from the diagram
in
Hoshin Planning [Ref. 4, p. 4-5] from which it was adapted, and your team's
groupings will probably be different from both of these. The important thing is that the
finished diagram should be one that everyone on your team can live with and
support.
When you have completed the detailed exercise, you may want to practice creating
an Affinity Diagram for some of the other topics listed after the exercise.
DETAILED EXERCISE: Now let's go through the steps of the Affinity process to
create a diagram using the following problem statement and the sample ideas
provided in Viewgraphs 6, 7, 8, and 9.
What are the issues in implementing continuous process improvement?
Step 1- Generate ideas. Copy each of the ideas displayed in Viewgraph 6 onto
post-its or cards, one idea to a card. The facilitator can do this in advance,
TM
or the participants can do it at the beginning of the exercise.
Step 2 - Display the ideas. Place the post-its on a chartpack, easel, or wall, in a
TM
random manner (Viewgraph 6).
Step 3 - Sort the ideas into rela